Weekend wrap-up (March 11)

AJGA juniors Casie Cathrea of Livermore, Calif., and William Brueckner of Walnut Creek, Calif., captured victories at the San Francisco City Championship . Cathrea defeated Jayshree Sarathy of Palo Alto, Calif., 10 and 8, for the title, while Brueckner won the men’s division, 3 and 1, against Isaiah Salinda of South San Francisco, Calif.

 

An Oklahoma State commit, Cathrea has earned 10 top-20 finishes in national junior competition. In 2012, she made a quarterfinal appearance at the U.S. Girls Junior Championship against eventual champion, Ariya Jutanugarn, tied for sixth at the Junior PGA Championship and finished T4 at The PING Invitational.

 

Brueckner has recorded six top-20 AJGA finishes and a victory at the 2011 Junior All-Star at River Ridge. His best finish during the 2012 season was a T3 showing at the Stockton Convention and Visitors Bureau Junior Open.

 

The Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters came down to an all-AJGA final during a four-way playoff between Cal’s Michael Kim, New Mexico’s James Erkenbeck, Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers and Alabama’s Cory Whitsett.

 

Rodger’s prevailed with a birdie on the 18th to win his third tournament of the year. He posted rounds of 66-73-73 for a tournament total of 4-under-par 212. All four players are credited with a victory.

 

Rodgers was a two-time Rolex Junior All-American, as well as a two-time HP Scholastic Junior All-American. He amassed nine top-10 career AJGA finishes, including a win at the 2009 Cleveland Junior Open and a seventh-place finish at The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf in 2010.

 

A sophomore as Stanford, Rodgers boasts an impressive collegiate record that includes 10 top-10 finishes in 12 events during his rookie season, including two individual victories. A PING First-Team All-American, Rodgers was a finalist for the 2012 Ben Hogan Award.

 

Kim notched eight top-ten finishes in national competition during his junior career, including seven in AJGA events. Following a successful 2010 season with runner-up finishes at the Western Junior Championship and the Polo Golf Junior Classic, Kim earned honorable mention Rolex Junior All-American accolades. In 2008, he collected his first AJGA victory at the Preseason Junior at Walnut Creek.

 

As a member of the California Golden Bears’ men’s golf team, Kim holds the team low-stroke average of 71.0, has a total of five top-five and eight top-10 finishes, and was named honorable mention PING Division I All-American following his freshman campaign.

 

Erkenbeck competed in four AJGA events during his junior career with his best finish coming at the 2008 Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club where he tied for third. At New Mexico, he compiled six top-10 finishes in 14 events during his sophomore season and finished second on the team in stroke average with a 71.9. In 2012, he earned medalist honors during the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.

Whitsett was one of junior golf’s most decorated players throughout his AJGA career. From 2005—2010, he posted 24 top-10 finishes in national competition including five victories. Whitsett was a three-time Rolex Junior All-American behind the strength of wins at the 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur and 2008 Rolex Tournament of Champions. Currently a junior at Alabama, Whitsett has continued to succeed at the collegiate level, tallying four individual titles thus far. He also holds the second-lowest scoring average in 72 career rounds with the Crimson Tide, just behind AJGA alum Bud Cauley.

Tiger Woods claimed his 17th World Golf Championship title at the WGC-Cadillac Championship for his 76th career win on the PGA TOUR. Woods closed with a 1-under-par 71 to finish the tournament at 19-under-par 269.

 

Woods played in 13 and won eight AJGA tournaments from 1991-1993, which ties him for second most AJGA career wins and earned him the title of Rolex Junior Player of the Year in 1991-1992. Woods appeared in the Wyndham Cup from 1990-1993 as a member of the West Team and posted a record of 11-3-2, the best of any boy in the tournament’s history.

 

Before beginning his professional career, Woods spent two years at Stanford, where he was a two-time first team All-American. In 1996 he was the NCAA individual champion, the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year, the Pac-10 conference champion and Pac-10 Player of the Year.

 

Scott Brown closed with a birdie on the 72nd hole of the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com for his first PGA TOUR victory. Brown finished at 20-under-par 268 for a one-shot win over Fabian Gomez and Jordan Spieth.

 

Brown competed in the AJGA’s Hilton Head event as a junior, before competing at the University of South Carolina-Aiken. In 2004, Brown led the Pacers to the program’s first-ever NCAA Title, finishing fourth individually. The next year, he led the defense at the NCAA Championship, helping secure a back-to-back victory for the squad. Brown holds the record for most career wins at USC-Aiken as well as lowest stroke average in a season (71.68).

 

Kevin Kisner closed with a 4-under-par 68 to win the Chile Classic, posting a 21-under-par 267 for his second Web.com Tour title.

 

During his junior career, Kisner tallied six top-10 finishes in national competition, highlighted by a T6 finish at the 2001 Rolex Tournament of Champions. As a two-time Rolex Junior All-American he represented the East at the 2002 Wyndham Cup.

 

Kisner continue his career at the University of Georgia where he was distinguished as SEC Freshman of the Year and an Honorable Mention All-American during his three years of competition. He served as team captain of the 2005 NCAA Championship squad, before turning pro upon graduation in 2006.